Anglo-Saxon Britain

The Rise of Ceolwulf II and the Last Days of Mercia

by Mick Baker, 2 May 2007

For seven years, the Great Army of Vikings led by Ivarr the Boneless and
Halfdan 'Wide Embrace' had been ravaging England.

Northumbria had been conquered, and their rival kings – Osberht and Aelle
– had been slain. East Anglia was also taken, and its king, Edmund,
martyred for refusing to abandon Christianity and accept the Viking gods.

In the south, Alfred, the young king of Wessex, paid off his enemies as
he tried to rebuild his kingdom's armies after years of warfare.

Mercia, the great kingdom that spread from the Thames to the Humber, also
suffered from Viking raids, and three times King Burgred, supported by his
West Saxon allies, withstood the inevitable by 'coming to an agreement'
with his opponents.

But, in 874, the Vikings moved their winter quarters from Lindsey to the
Mercian royal residence at Repton, and drove out Burgred, who had
appeased them those three times.

The Great Army of Ivarr the Boneless and Halfdan 'Wide
Embrace' winters at Nottingham, either with the connivance of Burgred,
the Mercian king, or because he was powerless to oust them.

The option of submitting to the Vikings, offering them
tribute and/or assistance in return for remaining unmolested may seem
somewhat 'cowardly', but it was nonetheless a common ploy. Used by the
East Angles in 866, Burgred employed such tactics in 869, 871 and 872.

Burgred was closely allied to Wessex during the latter years
of Æthelwulf and the reign of Æthelred I. The coinage of the two kingdoms has
even been described as 'a single unified coinage' by one authority, such
was the affinity of these monarchs.

872

Burgred offers asylum to the Northumbrian 'Quisling' – Egbert I
(Viking 'puppet king') and Archbishop Wulfhere, when their people expelled
them.

Clearly Burgred was an appeaser as far as the Great Army was
concerned.

873

Ricsige is elevated as the new king of English Northumbria
and recalls Archbishop Wulfhere.

Egbert I dies, possibly engineered by Burgred in a feeble
attempt to assert himself.

874

The Vikings move from Lindsey and make their winter quarters at
Repton, the burial place of Æthelbald (king of Mercia 716–757) and the centre of
Mercian royalty ('the line of Wiglaf').

The incumbent king, Burgred, flees to Rome where he dies the
following year. He was married to Æthelswith (married 853 and died 888 in Pavia),
who was the sister of Æthelred I, king of Wessex.

875

A charter issued by Ceolwulf - a typical Saxon charter - certainly
does not indicate that the Mercians were dancing to the Vikings' tune.

877

The Vikings divided Mercia, giving half to Ceolwulf, whilst the
Great Army appropriated the rest.

With the benefit of hindsight we can obtain a better
picture of Ceolwulf. Despite having been called 'a foolish king's Thane'
by the pro-Wessex Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Ceolwulf evidently enjoyed
cordial relations with Alfred, king of Wessex and he was accepted as the
legitimate king of Mercia. The two kings issued coinage of a similar
design.

879

Death of Ceolwulf II.

It has been suggested that the Danish occupation of Repton
was quite possibly aided by Burgred's political opponent, Ceolwulf II, of whom
the Wessex propaganda machine, the ASC, had written 'a foolish king's
Thane' and:

"He swore them oaths and gave hostages, so that it would
be ready for them on whatever day they would have it, and he himself
ready, and all those who would follow him at the force's need."

It is easy to see Ceolwulf as a latter-day quisling only
interested in feathering his own nest. After all, a Viking army was stationed
in the heart of the kingdom and was raiding monasteries and plundering the rich
lands with no sign of redress.

The blood of kings

There is the distinct probability however, that far from being a
Viking puppet, Ceolwulf II did indeed have the blood of kings in his
veins.

It seems likely that he was a direct descendent of Ceolwulf I and
Coenwulf (of the rival 'C' dynasty). It is also a possibility that those
Mercians who supported him had promoted him, at Burgred's defection,
rather than suffer a king appointed by the Vikings.

Another possibility is that the Mercians themselves toppled
Burgred, with whom they had become disaffected, to promote his political rival,
Ceolwulf; the Vikings being a mere catalyst to events. This suggests that
the Mercians retained at least some control.

Certain areas to the south and west lay beyond Viking reach,
which provided some grounds for hope that the kingdom may survive. By working
with the Vikings, Ceolwulf II may just have preserved a rump of Mercian
independence. Perhaps less of a quisling, more a Marshall Pétain. Ceolwulf
and his bishops perhaps should be regarded as having accepted office to
save their people from worse miseries, rather than as a bunch of
self-interested traitors.

Friendship with Wessex

[It has also been suggested that the later similarities of
design in the coinage of Alfred and Ceolwulf II is evidence of a similar
relationship to that of Burgred and Alfred's predecessors, indicating that
the two kings were allies. Therefore the so-called 'two emperors' and 'cross
and lozenge' coinages were minted in the names of both kings, and it is
certainly true that Ceolwulf was recognised as the legitimate ruler of
Mercia.

The derogatory and vitriolic tone of the pro-Wessex Chronicle
might suggest that Ceolwulf II was not regarded as a friend of Wessex, and
it has therefore also been mooted that the likelihood is that joint
coinage and design similarities were introduced to ease trade and the
process of exchange (to wit the euro!).

However, the fact that the two kings used the same moneyers would
militate against this latter interpretation.

A similar design exists for Halfdan of Danish Northumbria, and
by no stretch of the imagination could he be regarded as a friend to Anglo-Saxons;
he was attempting to gain some trade advantage by mimicking the coins of his
English neighbours. In this case it was just such a scheme.]

Mercian domains

Ceolwulf extended his control over southern Mercia, the Vikings clung
on to the north. Nobody knows now exactly where the border was.

Ceolwulf ruled for five years, in alliance with Alfred, but seems to
have died around 879. Subsequently, Alfred's historians partially re-wrote
history to justify the supremacy of Wessex over the Midlands.

Alfred's son-in-law, Æthelred, undoubtedly ruled Mercia but seems not
to have taken the title of king. On his death, his wife (Alfred's daughter) Æthelflæd
was termed 'Lady of The Mercians', and she did much to preserve a vestige of Mercian
independence. She died in 918.

Many commentators view this as the point that marks the beginning of
an 'English Kingdom' and the end of independent Wessex and Mercia.
However, things were not as simple.

The people wanted to keep their independence whilst retaining the
alliance with Wessex. Therefore, Æthelflæd was succeeded by her daughter,
Ælfwynn, as 'Lady of the Mercians', although her uncle, Edward the Elder
of Wessex no doubt exerted considerable influence.

Ælfwynn, though, was not her mother and although circumstances were
similar to when Æthelflæd assumed power in 911, they were not the same,
and the inexperience of the young Ælfwynn was soon demonstrated and her
reign foundered. She remained for six months before she was deposed by
Edward, who ruled Mercia directly.

The Mercian nobility were acutely aware of the ever-present threat of
Vikings on their borders, and the alliance with Wessex was essential to
the preservation of their kingdom. Ælfwynn had proved unsuitable as their
leader in such difficult times, so they accepted and encouraged the albeit
temporary rule of Edward.

It was understood that the succession would pass to Athelstan whilst
Edward's elder son, Ælfweard would ascend the throne of Wessex. Edward was
therefore not the first king of a united England, but rather the king of
two independent kingdoms - a situation that didn't really begin to be
resolved until the accession of Æthelred II.